CNN’s POLITICAL GUT CHECK | for July 3, 2014 | 5 p.m.
— n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

PERRY VS. POTUS: THE BATTLE OVER THE BORDER ...The White House responded Thursday to Rick Perry’s statement on Fox News that if President Barack Obama doesn’t travel to the southern border to deal with the ongoing immigration crisis, “it’s a real reflection of his lack of concern” of what’s happening there.Follow @GutCheckCNNFollow @sarafischer
“Those who are criticizing the President for not going to the border, at least many of them if not all of them are playing politics and are not really focused on solving the problem,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. “If they were committed to solving the problem, for example in the case of the Texas Governor ... he could pick up the phone and call some of those Republican members of Congress from Texas who are standing foursquare against common sense immigration reform.”

ABBOTT WEIGHS IN BOEHNER STYLE: "There are costs to all of this: the humanitarian crisis, healthcare, and law enforcement demands,” Texas GOP gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott told Breitbart on the ongoing immigration crisis. “As attorney general, I am looking into taking legal action against the United States."

OBAMA ZOOMS IN ON WALL STREET REFORM: In a departure from his usual economic rhetoric, President Barack Obama says he is focusing his efforts on reforming some of the nation’s biggest banks. “More and more of the revenue generated on Wall Street is based on arbitrage - trading bets - as opposed to investing in companies that actually make something and hire people,” Obama said in an interview with Marketplace published Thursday. “We have to continue to see how can we rebalance the economy sensibly, so that we have a banking system that is doing what it is supposed to be doing to grow the real economy, but not a situation in which we continue to see a lot of these banks take big risks because the profit incentive and the bonus incentive is there for them.”

LEGACY DEFINING? White House spokesman Josh Earnest at a briefing on Thursday: “The passage of Wall Street reform in the first couple years of this administration will go down as one of the legacy defining achievements of this administration.”

U-TURN FOR HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE ON TRAVEL ...Two days after a little-known rules change became public, the chairman of the House Ethics Committee announced a reversal on Thursday, and the committee reinstated a requirement for how members disclose privately-funded trips. Ethics Chairman Michael Conaway, R-Texas, revealed the U-turn during a local radio interview in Texas. A few hours later, the committee sent an official statement confirming it. – Lisa Desjardins

GOOD NEWS! JOB GROWTH OVER 200K FOR FIFTH-STRAIGHT MONTH ... 288,000 jobs were added in June and the unemployment rate fell to 6.1%. This will mark the fifth-straight month with job growth over 200,000. The last time that happened was at the end of 1999.

RNC REACTION: REID TOO FOCUSED ON STEYER TO CREATE JOBS … “Republicans have written and passed bill after bill after bill to create jobs, but Harry Reid’s too busy following the orders of radical environmentalists like Tom Steyer to help out working class Americans,” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement in response to the June jobs report.

NOT GIVING UP: MCDANIEL CAMP SEEKS VOTER IRREGULARITIES ...State Sen. Chris McDaniel's campaign is still fielding volunteers to crisscross the state and investigate June 24 primary election runoff. Campaign staffers and volunteers have already combed through voting records in more than half of the state’s 82 counties. They claim to have identified nearly 5,000 "irregularities," which are mostly tied to people who were ineligible to vote in the runoff, McDaniel campaign spokesman Noel Fritsch said. – Jeremy Diamond

THE BUZZ: CRAZY COCHRAN CONFERENCE CALL ... A Cochran camp phone session with reporters Wednesday, careened into a borderline racist verbal melee. Supporters of Mississippi state Sen. Chris McDaniel inundated Cochran campaign adviser Austin Barbour with questions, before one unidentified caller pivoted along racial lines. "Quick question," began the caller. "Since black people harvested cotton, why is it OK to harvest their votes? Why is it OK to harvest the votes of black people?"

MARKET WATCH: Dow ends above 17,000 for the first time in holiday-shortened session. S&P 500 closes at record high.

TRAIL TRIVIA(Answer Below)
Which three U.S. presidents died on the Fourth of July?

the LEDEDid you miss it?

Leading CNNPolitics:Can Rand Paul break past controversy over Civil Rights Act comments?
Sen. Rand Paul marked the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act at a ceremony this week honoring the late Maurice Rabb, a renowned ophthalmologist and civil rights leader. It was part of his aggressive outreach to African-Americans and other nontraditional GOP voters as he works to expand the Republican Party and as he crisscrosses the country laying groundwork for a potential presidential campaign. It's a community in which he has some fences to mend. – Ashley Killough

Leading CNNMoney:8 Presidents and the jobs that got them started
Obama worked for minimum wage or close to it, scooping ice cream and waiting tables. These eight former Presidents also started at the bottom before they took the highest office.

Leading Politico:New twist in Common Core wars
The administration wants children in Mississippi to be measured against the same bar as children in Massachusetts or Michigan. But now a testing revolt is spreading across the country, adding to a slew of troubles for the Common Core initiative, which began as a bipartisan effort but has come under fire from parents and teachers across the political spectrum. – Stephanie Simon and Caitlin Emma

Leading New York Times: Cheney’s Back, Blitzing Rivals and Drawing Scorn
For a White House beleaguered on multiple fronts, the former vice president’s return is in fact a welcome opportunity to focus attention on decisions made by Mr. Cheney and President George W. Bush rather than defending Mr. Obama’s own handling of foreign policy, which most Americans disapprove of in polls. – Peter Baker

QUOTE OF THE DAY: FORMER WYOMING SEN. ALAN SIMPSON TO THE NEW YORK TIMES ON DICK CHENEY: “He’s got a skin that’s like a rhinoceros. ... When you have your skin ripped off as many times as I have and he has, it grows back double strength.”

Gut Check Flash Back:HILLARY CLINTON ON FEBRUARY 13: “One of the best pieces of advice that I’ve ever heard came from Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1920s, who said women in politics "should grow skin like a rhinoceros.’ I think there's some truth to that.”

HOT SOTSThe political bites of the day

– In honor of Fourth of July, a tribute to a true American hero –LAURA HILLENBRAN, AUTHOR OF THE NYT BEST SELLER ‘UNKNOWN’ ABOUT LOUIS ZAMPERINI’S LIFE, ON HER FACEBOOK PAGE: “Farewell to the grandest, most buoyant, most generous soul I ever knew. Thank you, Louie, for all you gave to me, to our country, and to the world. I will never forget our last, laughing talk, your singsong 'I love you! I love you!' and the words you whispered to me when you last hugged me goodbye, words that left me in happy tears, words that I will remember forever. I will love you and miss you to the end of my days. Godspeed, sweet Louie.”

– Carney: Biden’s bluntness more of an asset than a liability –JAY CARNEY IN AN INTERVIEW WITH JIM RUTENBERG FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE: “The vice president’s bluntness and willingness to say what he thinks even if it’s sometimes impolitic is much more of an asset than it is a liability. That’s a huge part of his appeal; it’s why people still rightfully think he’s speaking from the heart despite the fact that he’s been in Washington for decades.”

– WH still considering ankle bracelets for border crossers –WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN JOSH EARNEST TO REPORTERS: “The President is committed to enforcing the law. ... We (are) considering alternatives to detention – ankle bracelets and other things – that would, again in a humane way, allow this administration to continue to enforce the law.”

– Dempsey: I know you’d rather hear from the other Dempsey ... –JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN GEN. MARTIN DEMPSEY AT A PENTAGON BRIEFING: “You probably all would rather hear from Clint Dempsey but you are stuck with me and I do make note of the fact that I am sitting next to the real secretary of defense and not Tim Howard.”

– Gingrich: Do we still believe in America? –NEWT GINGRICH IN AN OP-ED FOR CNN.COM: “In January of this year, Gallup found that more Americans picked bad government and corruption as our biggest problem than picked any other challenge, including the economy and unemployment. These are stunning numbers. When four out of five Americans believe government is corrupt, something is profoundly wrong.”

Also this Sunday, catch State of the Union at 9 a.m. and again at noon for an exclusive interview with Vice Adm. Michelle Howard on what it is like to be a trailblazer in the Military. Rep. Henry Cuellar and Mayor Alan Long will also join CNN’s Candy Crowley to discuss immigration, as well as Mo Elleithee, Sean Spicer, Stephanie Miller, and Carly Fiorina to discuss the Hobby Lobby decision and more.

TOP TWEETSWhat stopped us in 140 characters or less

CNN Breaking News (‏@cnnbrk)
Arthur has become a hurricane, the National Weather Service says. It has maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. http://cnn.it/1mMKbEm

Ryan Stauffer ‏(@ryanbstauffer)
Sad to hear of Louis Zamperini's passing. Read his story by Laura Hillenbrand if you get a chance. Amazing life. #Unbroken

TRIVIA ANSWER from @sarafischer

Three of the founding fathers have died, coincidentally, on the day Americans celebrate the nation’s birth. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The fifth president, James Monroe, also died on the Fourth of July.

soundoff(14 Responses)

king

this country is the richest its have ever been, i doubt if the great roman empire had as much money as this country does right now with all our billionaires. yet it was only 5 short years ago, some of these same rich folks were jumping off building because of the financial crash of 2008. this president took a world that fell off the cliff, and somehow brought it back on top of the pinnacle, and started a financial growth that the modern world have never seen. yet these backward people of this country voted him the worst president ever. which other president was handed so much caos, and turned it into so much success. i wonder what would have happened if the repubs would stop throwing stones on the sidelines for a second and join this president. the repubs right wing are steaming mad because when its all calculated, this president will be in the top 4 of the best president to lead this country ever. the problem is, it will be a while until he leaves office, and these people will start seeing the enormous scope of what this president accomplished for this country in the time of great caos and mayhem. fox news will have their focus on president Hillary at that point and wont have the resources to cloud the minds of the american people anymore like they have been doing successfully for the past 5 years.

July 4, 2014 01:28 am at 1:28 am |

Gurgyl

Freeze immigration for twenty years or more. Check all Airports, borders. Deport on illegal visas. Problem solved. Cut all kinds of visas. Period.

July 4, 2014 06:31 am at 6:31 am |

it must be said

king
this country is the richest its have ever been, i doubt if the great roman empire had as much money as this country does right now with all our billionaires.
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Not after subtracting our $17 TRILLION in debt and nearly $100 TRILLION in unfunded liabilities. We are living a lifestyle that eventually ends in ruin under crushing debt.

July 4, 2014 08:45 am at 8:45 am |

Lizzie

King, you should have said despite all the Presidents efforts, this country is SLOWLY coming back, despite his efforts to demonize the rich, THEY are investing in this country, despite his efforts the stock market is up. But NO you demonize the opposition just like any GOOD democrat will do, but forget the shortcomings of his own party.

July 4, 2014 09:18 am at 9:18 am |

don in albuquerque

king
The GOTP would have been much happier if the country had not gone into the ditch, but instead off the cliff.

July 4, 2014 10:20 am at 10:20 am |

Bessy

@ " king "
I agree with you 100%. Imagine what this president could have done if he had some Republican cooperation.
As for this immigration problem. The situation is way beyond my solving, but I think that something has to be done, and soon. President Obama did not create this problem but he was handed it and now blamed for it. It really is a shame that people cannot see the asituation as it is.

July 4, 2014 10:54 am at 10:54 am |

Thomas

When will Rick Perry come out of the LogCabin ?

All Americans have the right to carry a Gun .

July 4, 2014 12:04 pm at 12:04 pm |

Jeff Brown in Jersey

I doubt President Obama is worried about anything this moron has to say.

July 4, 2014 12:59 pm at 12:59 pm |

Tony D

Bessy
Imagine what this president could have done if he had some Republican cooperation.
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We will never know because he has never sought their cooperation and their ideas. Obama expects to dictate what he wants and have the Republicans accept it without changes or negotiation. As he told them very early on, he won and they can sit at the back of the bus.

As for this immigration problem. The situation is way beyond my solving, but I think that something has to be done, and soon. President Obama did not create this problem but he was handed it and now blamed for it. It really is a shame that people cannot see the asituation as it is.
---

Obama absolutely DID CAUSE THIS CRISIS. Why has it never ever happened before?! It is his refusal to enforce the immigration laws and deport ALL people caught here illegally. He then granted illegally granted amnesty to kids of a certain age. People aren't fools, they know this is a direct result of Obama's incompetence and lawless behavior.

Obama had his chance but was to busy running Obamacare down our throats.

July 4, 2014 01:43 pm at 1:43 pm |

J Anthony

@Tony D, get ur head out of your butt. This has bee happening for decades. The president is not personally responsible for the collapse of Cenntral American society and the hiring of illegals. How about going after the exploiters who hire all these people, which is what attracts them here in the first place? How about our trade policies that favor corporate profits above all else, decimating the economies of the countries from which many of these people are coming from? Look at the bigger picture, this is a much more complicated issue than anyone would like it to be. Something needs to be done, but Obama did not cause the problem by himself and he can't solve it by himself either.

July 4, 2014 01:49 pm at 1:49 pm |

J Anthony

@ED1-, yes he had his chance, and deported more illegals than the last few presidents, only to be condemned by a signifigant part of the Latino community as the "deporter-in-chief"...you sound like a retarted parrot, repeating FOX/rightwing talking points verbatim.

Political opinion polls have been queried by political party loyalists under differing lines of thoughts, moreso recently. This means that they are imbued with some faults that require restructuring for public acceptability. In line with this lags, it becomes relevant to provide the public with dats on the people whose opinions are sought. These data among other
things should include people name, qualifications, political beliefs, Town he/she stays, reasons for the views .Such data will help the people evaluate the views expressed.